Iris Harrison's Blog

Daltry does Tommy in the UK!

by Iris Harrison,posted Apr 28 2011 2:39PM

I just got the most interesting email from The Who Fan Club. Yes, I love them that much! Here’s the skinny:ROGER DALTREY TO PERFORM THE WHO’S LEGENDARY “TOMMY” ALBUM FROM START TO FINISHPLUS A VARIETY OF THE WHO’S CLASSICS - AND MOREOn the heels of his recent sell out performance at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, ROGER DALTREY is now taking The Who’s legendary rock opera TOMMY on the road.
The last time The Who toured Tommy live was in 1989. In the upcoming tour, Roger is pulling out all the stops with his stunning young band - Frank Simes (guitar), Scott Deavours (drums), Jon Button(Bass), Loren Gold (Keyboards) and SIMON TOWNSHEND, younger brother of PETE, (guitar) – and employing an exciting new array of visuals.
TOMMY is not only one of the most acclaimed and defining works of the rock era, it is an enduring album that resonates on radio to this day where it has found multi-generational appeal. Inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, the 20 million-selling double album also spawned a successful 1975 film of the same name--with DALTREY playing the title role--which re-underlined its place in the cultural firmament.
Commenting on the tour, Pete Townshend says ''Great to see Roger performing TOMMY with his band in 2011. I will be there in spirit and Roger has my complete and most loving support. Roger is touring his unique concert version of TOMMY using his faithful presentation of the original work as the backbone for a set of wider material. It is wonderful to hear the way Roger and his new band re-interpret the old Who songs.''
Throughout this tour, songs such as “Pinball Wizard,” “The Acid Queen,” “I’m Free,” “See Me, Feel Me” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” promise to transport attendees into the world of this classic album with shuddering intensity and poetic power.
When DALTREY and his band performed TOMMY at the Royal Albert Hall, The Independent called the show “a faithful reading... The stand-outs, ‘I'm Free,’ ‘See Me, Feel Me’ and the anthemic climax of ‘We're Not Gonna Take It’ are rousing.” Afterwards the Who blogosphere was alight with comments from long standing fans lucky enough to see the show. These included comments like ''Roger nailed Tommy'' and ''Last night’s concert was the best I've ever seen - what a great band!”
Roger describes the show and visuals as ''A Tommy Show for today's audience from a different perspective.''
“TOMMY, an album that tells a story about a “deaf, dumb, and blind boy” who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, will always be seen as a turning point for the band,” adds DALTREY. “Within it, I found the new voice of The Who and the band found its stride in making that music, adjusting it, using all that knowledge that we had from jazz and the blues into making it work in a rock way.”
Tour dates, cities and venues:
3-Jul ALCESTER RAGLEY HALL
4-Jul GATESHEAD SAGE
6-Jul GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM
7-Jul MANCHESTER BRIDGEWATER HALL
9-Jul NOTTINGHAM ROYAL CENTRE
10-Jul NEWPORT CENTRE
12-Jul BRISTOL COLSTON HALL
13-Jul SOUTHEND CLIFFS PAVILLION
15-Jul GUILDFORD GUILFEST
16-Jul HAMPSHIRE BROADLANDS
17-Jul HARROGATE RIPLEY HOUSE
19-Jul HULL CITY HALL
21-Jul LONDON INDIGO 02
22-Jul NORWICH BLICKLING HALL
24-Jul EXETER POWDERHAM CASTLE
Okay, now to get to the UK...there's always something.

Plans also call for Daltrey to perform a number of other Who classics during the program...Joining Roger will be Frank Simes guitar Scott Deavours drums Jon Button bass Loren Gold Keyboards and Simon Townshend guitar younger brother of Pete Townshend...Daltrey described the production as A Tommy Show for todays audience from a different perspective. Tommy an album that tells a story about a deaf dumb and blind boy who becomes the leader of a messianic movement will always be seen as a turning point for the band. Within it I found the new voice of The Who and the band found its stride in making that music adjusting it using all that knowledge that we had from jazz and the blues into making it work in a rock way. ..While Pete Townshend will not be on the tour he did comment Great to see Roger performing Tommy with his band in 2011. I will be there in spirit and Roger has my complete and most loving support.